genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of approximately 70 species of
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...
s and, rarely, small
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s in the family
Berberidaceae
The Berberidaceae are a family of 18 genera of flowering plants commonly called the barberry family. This family is in the order Ranunculales. The family contains about 700 known species, of which the majority are in ''Berberis''. The species ...
, native to eastern
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
, the
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
,
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
. They are closely related to the genus ''
Berberis
''Berberis'' (), commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from tall, found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world (apart from Australia). Species diversity is greatest in South Amer ...
'' and botanists disagree on whether to recognize a separate ''Mahonia''. Many botanists prefer to classify ''Mahonia'' as a part of ''Berberis'' because several species in both genera are able to hybridize, and because there are no consistent morphological differences between the two groups other than the leaf
pinnation
Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...
(''Berberis sensu stricto'' appear to have simple leaves, but these are in reality compound with a single leaflet and are termed "unifoliolate"; additionally their branched spines are modified compound leaves). However, recent DNA-based
phylogenetic
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups ...
studies retain the two separate
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
, by clarifying that unifoliolate-leaved ''Berberis s.s.'' is derived from within a
paraphyletic
In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In ...
group of shrubs bearing imparipinnate evergreen leaves, which are then divided into three genera: ''Mahonia'', '' Alloberberis'' (formerly ''Mahonia'' section ''Horridae''), and '' Moranothamnus'' (formerly ''Berberis claireae''); a broadly-circumscribed ''Berberis'' (that is, including ''Mahonia'', ''Alloberberis'', and ''Moranothamnus'') would also be
monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gr ...
.
''Mahonia'' species bear pinnate
leaves
A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...
long with 3 to 15 leaflets, and
flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...
s in
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
s which are long. Several species are popular
garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
shrubs, grown for their ornamental, often spiny, evergreen foliage, yellow (or rarely red) flowers in autumn, winter and early spring, and blue-black
berries
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, ras ...
. The flowers are borne in terminal clusters or spreading racemes, and may be among the earliest flowers to appear in the growing season. The ripened fruits are acidic with a very sharp flavor. The plants contain
berberine
Berberine is a quaternary ammonium salt from the protoberberine group of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids found in such plants as ''Berberis vulgaris'' (barberry), ''Berberis aristata'' (tree turmeric), ''Mahonia aquifolium'' (Oregon grape), ''Hydras ...
, a compound found in many ''Berberis'' and ''Mahonia'' species which causes vomiting, lowered blood pressure, reduced heart rate, lethargy, and other ill effects when consumed.
The genus name, ''Mahonia'', derives from
Bernard McMahon
Bernard McMahon or M'Mahon (Ireland ca 1775 — Philadelphia, 18 September 1816) was an Irish-American horticulturist settled in Philadelphia, who served as one of the stewards of the plant collections from the Lewis and Clark Expedition and was ...
, one of the stewards of the plant collections from the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...
. The type species of the genus is '' M. aquifolium''.
Species
The following list includes all currently recognized species of the genus ''Mahonia'' as accepted by
Tropicos
Tropicos is an online botanical database containing taxonomic information on plants, mainly from the Neotropical realm (Central, and South America). It is maintained by the Missouri Botanical Garden and was established over 25 years ago. The data ...
Mahonia duclouxiana
''Berberis napaulensis'' ne, जमाने मान्द्रो is a shrub in the family Berberidaceae described as a species in 1821. It is native to China (Tibet, Yunnan, Guangxi, and Sichuan) and the Himalayas (Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, As ...
Mahonia japonica
''Mahonia japonica'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to Taiwan. Despite the name, it is not native to Japan, though it has been known in cultivation there for centuries. The wild origins of this species have lo ...
Mahonia leschenaultii
''Mahonia leschenaultii'' is a plant that belongs to the genus '' Mahonia''. It is indigenous to the temperate and subtropical regions of the Indian sub-continent: Nepal, the Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh, Khasi Hills and the Nilgiri Mountains. ...
Mahonia nervosa
''Mahonia nervosa'', commonly known as dwarf Oregon-grape, Cascade barberry, Cascade Oregon-grape, or dull Oregon-grape, is a flowering plant native to the northwest coast of North America from southern British Columbia south to central Califo ...
Mahonia oiwakensis
''Mahonia oiwakensis'' is a species of plant in the barberry family, Berberidaceae. It is native to Taiwan, China ( Guizhou, Hong Kong, Sichuan, Xizang (Tibet) and Yunnan) and Myanmar, where it occurs at elevations of 600 to 3800 m.Mahonia paucijuga'' C.Y. Wu ex S.Y. Bao
*''
Mahonia polyodonta
''Berberis polyodonta'' is a shrub in the Berberidaceae described as a species in 1901. It is native to Assam, Myanmar, and southwestern China (Guizhou, Hubei, Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan).
Taxonomy
''Berberis polyodonta'' was initially scientificall ...
Mahonia trifoliolata
''Mahonia trifoliolata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, in southwestern North America. Common names include agarita, agrito, algerita, currant-of-Texas, wild currant, and chaparral berry. The name Agarita comes fro ...
alternate host
A heteroecious parasite is one that requires at least two hosts. The ''primary host'' is the host in which the parasite spends its adult life; the other is the ''secondary host''. Both hosts are required for the parasite to complete its life cycl ...
s for the
cereal
A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...
File:Mahonia Golden Abundance 038.jpg, ''Ripe fruits of Mahonia'' 'Golden Abundance'
File:Fruits of Mahonia lomariifolia, Luther Burbank Home and Gardens.jpg, Immature fruits of '' Mahonia oiwakensis subsp. lomariifolia''
File:Mahonia oiwakensis.jpg, ''
Mahonia oiwakensis
''Mahonia oiwakensis'' is a species of plant in the barberry family, Berberidaceae. It is native to Taiwan, China ( Guizhou, Hong Kong, Sichuan, Xizang (Tibet) and Yunnan) and Myanmar, where it occurs at elevations of 600 to 3800 m.Mahonia aquifolium''
File:Mahonia Lescenaultii.jpg, A flowering branch of
Mahonia leschenaultii
''Mahonia leschenaultii'' is a plant that belongs to the genus '' Mahonia''. It is indigenous to the temperate and subtropical regions of the Indian sub-continent: Nepal, the Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh, Khasi Hills and the Nilgiri Mountains. ...